Week Seven We are in the grips of a"Mathletics Competition". We are all very motivated to get as many points as we can so that we can beat Rooms 4 and 6! Earlier in the week we held the number one spot in New Zealand, only to be overtaken by Room 5! We will just have to work super hard tonight as the competition ends tomorrow morning at 10:30am! Look how close the totals are! It is still anyones game!
This week finds us starting to prepare for our Prizegiving / Christmas concert. Our favourite song from this is very clearly "Feel Inside" by Flight of the Conchords". Sing along with the YouTube video below! Gracelin and Jaden did a great job of presenting our syndicate assembly wehre we got to show Karaka syndicate our "We are done" music video we made last week. This will be posted to our wiki as soon as we have made a few extra edits!
For writing this week we are still trying to use the "show not tell technique"... something that takes a lot of practise! So this week, we all dipped our hands into a bucket of icy cold water and tried to keep it in there for as long as we could. And then we wrote about it, trying to describe what it was like and what was happening to our bodies before, during and after. It was lots of fun - I could hear whoops of delight, gasps as the numbing cold took kids breaths away... I saw hands turning red and blotchy or a bluish purple and faces with smiles from ear to ear (I am trying to use a little bit of show not tell myself!) We will try and get some of these pieces of writing onto our personal wikis in week six.
Reading on Friday involved reading a Maori Legend called Maui and the Giant Fish. Many children had not heard this story before, and some were very concerned that this could be real! To make the story come to life, we got into small groups and each group had to go back and revisit the story and turn it into a small play to perform in front of the class. This took on a life of its own as kids busied themselves making props and canoes. I was most impressed with some of the collaboratation, co-operation and leadership skills that were demonstrated. Samuel even said to me that it was so much fun - and could we please do something like that again! I think our next legend might have to be "How Maui Caught the Sun"!
Check out some of the photos we snapped during the week!
Term Four Week Four
Room 5 have been very busy with Mrs Cowan over the last few weeks creating sugar skulls! The sugar skulls come from a mexican holiday called the "Day of the Dead". During this time they make sugar skulls to honour those that have passed away. The photo does not do them justice, so next time you are at school, be sure to pop in and have a look!
This week Karaka syndicate is organising assembly, so I thought we had better get something together... as I was searching for bits n pieces on the internet, I came across a dance-a-long video that will be perfect for our brain breaks! We will have to try this as a class tomorrow! Also, check out the video with the clapping game. Do you think we can come up with something similar???
Term Four Week Three
We certainly made the most of the short week, and finished off the week with a shared lunch. The shared lunch was well deserved, as everyone had finally achieved 50 dojo class points! Well done! Thanks to all the parents that sent something along for us all to share. The kids really enjoyed it, and some are already asking when we can do it again! As the end of the year looms, teachers (myself included) are starting to gear up for lots of testing over the next few weeks. We have already completed spelling tests and done a writing sample, so that means reading and maths assessments are the next on the list.
Term Four Week Two It was a bit of shock to the system, having to organise ourselves for homework and spelling and getting back to a real learning day! Being the last term, there will be lots of tests and assessments, with a writing sample and a basic facts test to be completed this week. To ease ourselves into it, we refelcted on Calf Club day using a padlet. Then we thought about one moment at Calf Club and thought about what we could hear, see, smell. taste and feel. See below of our favourite bits about last Friday, and our class attempt and writing with lots of detail about Mrs Reeves arriving back at the class after a long day, to be faced with the task of reorganising the classroom!
At the end of a long day at Calf Club, the sound of birds chirping was getting on my nerves! As I casually entered the classroom, my choulders dropped and I sighed heavily. In front of me was a filthy classroom. Name tags lay unloved under the tables that not so long ago were beautifully decorated. There was a definite smell or tang in the air of two day old pineapple. Aaah Mrs Reeves, time to get started!
Term Four Week One After an exciting holiday, when Amber's mum had baby Isla and Matthew hand fed monkeys at Auckland Zoo, there was lots of activity during the first week back due to Calf Club. We were busy finishing bits n pieces, as well as making dream catchers to use as our third piece of calf club art.
On Thursday morning, everyone arrived with big smiles, some frazzled looking parents as well as flowers, jars, baking trays, vegetables and foliage in tow.The whole class did a wonderful job of their floral creations. Our classroom looked and smelled amazing on Thursday afternoon!
Finally the big day arrived, and so did the animals and the beautiful weather. Many thanks to parents, grandparents and friends who all helped support the children of room 5 in some way shape or form.
Check out some of the photos from a very memorable day.
Week Ten Today we were invited to watch the school production. It was so cool! There were a few similarities between the production and the 26 storey treehouse novel that we are reading as a class! It was especially exciting to see kids from Karaka syndicate up on stage!
As you may have seen from earlier posts we have loved learning about the human body! So, as a final task, we had to choose an organ or part of our body and research about it. These have taken quite some time to prepare, but it was worth the time! Head over to our learning hub and check out our presentations!
Tomorrow is mufti-day to raise money for the jump jam teams, and Friday is our green card celebration! Even though this term has gone so quickly, we are all looking forward to a break!
Week Nine:Friday was talk like a priate day. So in the morning we all came up with our own pirate names using the chart below. Gracelin's pirate name was "Sharbait Headbeard". Chelsea's pirate name was "Squidlips Hornswaggle". Our pirate accents do need a little work though, some of us sounded like little monsters, and others sounded Irish! Use the chart below to find your own pirate name!
This term, we have been trying to write lots of different types of non-fiction pieces. For the last week and a bit, we have been researching and writing about an animal that interests us. Once we had written about what the animal looks like, their diet and habitat, we could choose how we were going to present our information to our audience. Some people chose to create a poster using paper and pens, some chose to create a poster online using www.postermywall.com. Creating an animated movie using www.powtoon.com was also a popular choice. We even had a group use google presentation as well as making a movie using the iPads. See two of the finished examples right here! These videos have been created without any teacher input - well done! Week Eight This week's main event was cross country. It was a great afternoon that most of the children thoroughly enjoyed. Before their races, we could hear nervous chatter and saw some very concerned looking faces. But, once they had lined up for thier races, and the start gun had sounded, the nerves seemed to disappear! Some kids could have run the course again, yet for others it was a real challenge. I was really proud of the way everyone gave it their best shot, and helped others when they were struggling. I did take lots of photos, but am currently having a panic as I can't find the SD card! Once it turns up I will post the photos here.
The 26 Storey Treehouse
Week Seven Friday was challenge day! This week we collaborated with Room 6. It was interesting to work with people we don't usually work with. The challenge was to build a bridge so Mr Reeves' cows could get from one side of the farm over the stream to the paddocks with lots of grass! Lots of thinking and talking and adapting ideas as we went. Check out the photos!
I know I say every week is busy - but this week really was! Below is a mind map of some of the things we did over the week... We also tasted lemons to see what our face looks like when we grimace! Grimace was our word of the week. Week Six We have another busy week ahead! First thing on Monday morning we have our second (and last) session in the Life Ed van. Friday's session was so much fun, and it was really impressive how much the children could tell Becs (the Life Ed teacher) about the human body. This week is Mrs Kirkbride's last week in Room 5 before we welcome Mrs Cowan back. During the time Mrs Kirkbride has been in Room 5 we have made 3D wire art, 3D shapes out of tooth picks and blue tack as well as do some more learning about the human body! We have music on Wednesday, as well as assembly on Friday. Hold on to your hats, it's going to be another hectic week!
Do you remember writing these? click on the the page to see the flipbook.
These are a few photos I had floating around. We are really proud of Matthew for earning the Powerful Learner Award in assembly. Matthew received this award for his fantastic attitude towards his learning. He tries everything, even when it's hard, and always gives it his best shot. Well done Matthew! Congratulations also go to Samantha and Phoebe, who sat the New South Wales writing exam a few months ago. Both of these girls earned "pass with distinction" certificates. This is something to be incredibly proud of!
Friday 29th August As promised, it has been a busy week. I think on Monday we were only in our class for a total of 40 minutes! Today maths had a bit of a twist - we completed what we call a QR code treasure hunt. Each team was given an iPad . They used the iPad to scan a qr code, which gave them a maths question to answer as well as the clue for where to go to next... This was an exciting way to engage the class using a different medium... maths disguised as fun!
For a change, we just did some free writing about any topic we chose on Wednesday. At the end of our writing sessions we always share bits of our work. I was completely blown away by the quality of some of the pieces! Here is James' favourite sentence: Very interesting, I thought. I went to take a closer look, then splat, I found myself lying on the floor with blood all over me.
Here is Oscar's amazing sentence: I found a pie... I observed the pie and it tasted like a mouldy burger from 100 years ago.
Our focus for this lesson was to try and NOT use "and then"!! No more "and thens" in Room 5!
Week Five: What a great few days it's been! We are all enjoying our fractions work, this may have something to do with using Smarties to work out fractions (and then eating them once we were done!) There seems to be a real hum in the class during maths. It is so motiviating to see the class engaged, which makes me want to plan more exciting lessons...
Today we also had another hands on topic lesson - this time we looked at a lamb's heart! Beyond knwoing we need one to keep alive, the class didn't know too much about its job (to pump blood around the body!). As you can imagine, we had some very excited kids, as well as some that I may have scarred for life! We can't wait for our lessons in the Life Education van as we will learn more about the circulatory system!
As teachers, we talk about creating authentic purposes for learning. In other words, making sure there is a real reason for different activities. Last week Jaden wrote a beautiful piece about his Dad being his hero. Rather than it just living in his computer forever, this piece of writing gained a life of its own as Jaden read this piece out loud at a memorial service held for his Dad this morning. I am so very proud of you Jaden!
Week Three:
Where did the last two weeks go? I can't believe that it is already week three! A slight change in plans means Mrs Cameron will be in Room 5 this Thursday. I'm sure she will have a great day!
Today we finished writing our "Best Part of Me" pieces. We have some spectacular stories. I look foward to getting these printed and on the wall with a photo to match! Look out for our pieces on each student's wiki, as well as our digital flipbook to be published right here. Until then, check out our padlet that helped us start planning our writing... even the planning was fun because we learnt how to use the webcams!
I think the "Creation Station" is a hit! The deepest thinking happens when we use higher order thinking skills - and creation happens to be one of the highest thinking skills we can use. What will our next challenge be?
Week Two:
We are all enthralled by our current topic of the human body. This week we are looking at the skeleton and what its job is. To make this a little more interesting we looked at and touched a cow's leg bone. I think the photos say it all. What a cool lesson. It has sparked quite an interest in our skeleton!
Next week Mrs Cowan is off to Canada to visit family and friends. We hope she has a good time, and we look forward to hearing all about her trip! Because Mrs Cowan is away, Mrs Kirkbride will be in on a Thursday, starting week 4.
Some people say that creativity has disappeared from classrooms. Not in Room 5! The challenge was to build a tower using only the materials given to us, while working as a team. There were some tremendous results. Once the building part of the challenge was complete, we all worked on a collaborative google doc to relfect on the challenge and think about what team work really means. Check out the photos!
Goodness! This is week is whizzing by! This term promises to be as busy as any other, possibly busier as we will be working on the whole school production "Pirates of the Curry Bean".
This week is "Te wiki o te reo Maori" - Maori language week. In our morning meetings we have been getting good at greeting each other in Maori and asking each other "Kei te pehea koe?" (how are you).
Riley celebrated his 9th birthday this week and brought in a beautiful cake that he and his Mum decorated. The whole class loved the cake!
We have been busy working on our multiplication and division, and many of us have worked out that if we know the multiplication fact, we also know the division fact! It is exciting to see the whole class really enjoying maths. This morning we did a quick survey using a google form and one of the questions was "what is one thing you are really enjoying in the class?". Many students replied that maths was something they were enjoying, as they have realised it isn't always hard! Motivation is such a key ingredient in learning!
As a class we are reading Mr Gum and the Biscuit Millionaire. It is quite an odd book, but it has made us giggle a lot! When we listen to the book, as well as trying to keep up with what is happening in the story, we are listening for "wow words" or sentences that we love the sound of that we could use in our own writing. This is called "reading like a writer"!
03.07.14
Measurement
In Room 5 we have been working on our measurement skills. One of our favourite tasks was to create paper planes. It sounds like fun but surprisingly it proved to be quite a challenge. It meant that we had to use our problem solving skills often and collaborate with each other to find the best strategies to design the best planes . We found out that the longer and pointier your plane is the further it will fly. Room 5 had an Airshow to see whose plane flew the furthest. We then measured the distance in metres. Matthews plane flew the furthest, then Jacob's and then James'. We also measured the distance using our personal benchmarks.
Today we were working on measurement estimations. Mrs Cowan brought in some of her sons belongings, such as a shoe, a jumper, a truck, a book and much more. We were surprised at how small his clothes were. We thought they looked like dolls clothes. First we estimated how long we thought they were. Then we checked our answers with a ruler. We were practising using the units centimetres and millimetres.
Another measurement activity we enjoyed was Clown Drawing. We had to draw a clown from the circus in our books using specific measurements. We had to use our rulers to make sure that the clowns arms, legs, feet, hands and torso were the right length. Check out Samuel measuring his clown in the photo above.
"Estimation means taking your best guess". Samantha
"We have learned that estimating is actually good because if you don't have a ruler you can estimate and you might get the answer right". Emily
"Estimation can be used for lots of things, example, guessing how heavy something is".Callahan
Firstly, congratulations to Mrs Farrell who had a beautiful little boy this week! Most of the class guessed that Mrs Farrell was going to have a boy! Another busy week has come to a close! We have been doing a lot of work on multiplication for maths. This means finding different ways to work multiplication problems out (also known as strategies) as well as getting better at remembering times table facts. It is awesome to see all of Room 5 so engaged at maths time!
On Friday we used the Dreamworks Super Hero cards to make arrays. Arrays are rows or lines to display a times tables fact visually. The challenge was to try and work out different ways of displaying numbers up to 24. e.g I can show 12 by making two rows of six, or three rows of four. The conversations in the class during this task were great! One example:"Mrs Reeves!! We have figured out that if we have 24 cards, we could each have six and our invisible guy could have six too!. That means four lots of six is 24!"
Now that testing is all done and dusted (for now anyway) we can really sink our teeth into reading. This week we explored kids news, a website with news stories especially written for children in New Zealand. As part of this we learned about summarising - finding the main points from start to end in order to tell a shorter version of the story, article or text. For some of us this was quite hard, and others really enjoyed it. There is lots of talk about "reading strategies". Simply put, these reading strategies give readers a variety of skills to really understand what they are reading. Once we are good readers, we use these strategies without thinking, but first they must be taught! Some of the reading comprehension strategies that we come across are:
Our topic of Sustainability has linked very nicely with the movie "The Lorax". Check out the song "Let it Grow".
We are getting pretty good at using technology in our classroom! For maths and writing, some of our activities are on our Learning Hub. Click on the link to go and check it out. (You may not be able to see some of the pages due to privacy settings, but you will get the idea). Homework information is here too. Click here to go to the Learning Hub
Friday 13th June
In Room 5 we start each day with a "morning meeting". In our meeting we make sure we greet each other, we share our news and ideas, we discuss different things, we do an activity that gets us thinking and we read our daily message ( a little story about what will be happening that day).
Why start the day with a morning meeting?
It makes sure everyone has been greeted and welcomed. It makes us feel as though we are an important part of Room 5.
It teaches us social skills: how to say hi in a friendly voice, how to take turns, how to contribute.
It gives everyone an opportunity to share
It gets our brains and our bodies ready to start the day
It tells us what is happening today so we know what to expect
The photos below are of a greeting we did on Wednesday morning called the "web welcome". As each person was greeted, they held onto a part of the ball of string, and then continued to pass it to someone who hadn't yet been greeted. Once everyone had had a turn, our patterns made a spider web!
Thursday 12 June
Roar, neigh, squeak, snap! Animals from Africa say it all. Today in Room 5 we continued our research on animals from Africa.
Jayden learned that a rhino can weigh up to 3500kg's.
Emily learned that Penguins don't live in the south pole.
Phoebe learned that a tiger can jump up to 5 metres.
Nikita Soli learned that zebras run from side to side to escape predators.
Oscar learned that female eagles lay eggs on high cliffs.
Riley learned that Tucans are not very good at flying.
Chelsea learned that some parrots live up to 80 years.
Samuel learned that there are more than 250 types of bees in the world.
Jordan learned that the crocodile has the strongest bite in the animal kingdom.
After we had researched our animals we made prints. See if you can recognise the animals from their prints below !
Wednesday 11 June
I think we will have to try this tomorrow. It might be great way to get moving on these miserable rainy days!
Try this! Double click on the colourful wall below and typ
e an idea that you could write about. It might be the first sentence for a fabulous story you could write or, you could give me a topic that you might like to write a story about.
This could be your chance to be the next Andy Griffiths or Tom Gates!
For example: I closed my eyes and jumped.... or... I think there might be a monster under my bed... Or: "I want to write about Motorbikes", or "I love to write about all the naughty things my little sister does"... Be as creative as you can... get ideas from your family.... Have fun!
P.S: remember to add your name to your post.
Meet Mac! This week we were lucky enough to have Jacob's Mum bring Mac to school for a visit! Jacob did a great job of making sure Mac felt safe and warm while we were all patting him. We noticed how soft and silky Mac's fur felt. Thanks for sharing Jacob! Even though this week was a short one, we still managed to pack a lot in! We wrote a classroom poem called "In Room 5 we do...". Many of the children in the class knew of the posters some people have in their homes about house rules, so they enjoyed writing some for our class. This was a great way of capturing how everyone in Room 5 wants to feel, or be treated, and what we need to do. This was also our first opportunity to use a google doc, and the whole class coped so well.
What's on this week coming?
This week there will be lots of testing! With portfolios going home soon, there will be some pretty busy days. We will also start a new spelling programme and continue learning about and doing the different Daily Five activities (our reading and literacy framework). Can't wait!
Earlier in the Week
Hi everyone! What a busy day in Room 5 it was today. We re-wrote our classroom rules together, created a collage to use as a background for our 'selfie' images and took a maths test. But... my guess is that most of the kids in Room 5 would say that the best part of the day was when Mr Williams delivered our new blue trolley full of...... new computers! I was really impressed with how quickly and easily everyone got on to a network and signed in using our new Room 5 google account. I am so excited about all the possibilities that having a computer for each child opens up! Watch this space! Photos to come :-)
Week 4 My last week with Room 5!! I have had a wonderful time in Room 5 this first half of the year!! It has been great getting to know and working with all 24 children! I wish Room 5 all the best for the rest of the year and I'll come and visit soon :) Mrs Farrell
Wow!!! Room 5 have created beautiful turtle artwork. We used Pastels first to colour and design our turtles then used blue dye to paint over the top. Check out the pictures below!!!!
Week 3
Well done to the the brave children who have already presented their speeches!! It's never easy going first or presenting a speech for the first time!! It's fantastic to see the children researching their topics,writing down their own ideas, making cue cards and practising with their buddies. We are looking forward to hearing the rest of the speeches during the week and early next week!! Videos below- Oscar,Phoebe and Alex.
Speeches!!!!!! Due weeks 3-4 or when you feel ready (but no later than week 4)
Look out for the outline glued in homework books.
Everyone is going to present a 2- 3 minute speech about a topic of their choice. Try to choose a topic that you are interested in or have experience in/with.
Remember to include:
Introduction- Interesting opening sentence that grabs the audience attention Body- Facts, personal experience Conclusion- quick summary and ending
Lastly use cue cards and practice, practice and practice.
Term 2- Week 1 Welcome back to Term 2!!! Hope you all enjoyed the break! It has been exciting to hear all about the adventures and fun activities everyone has been up to!!
Holiday Homework Here are some pictures below of CJ, Phoebe and Amber baking their ANZAC cookies. Well Done to everyone who gave it a go!!!
t
Week 12
We have had a wonderful 12 weeks and are all looking forward to our two week holiday!!
Next Friday is ANZAC Day.
Anzac Day (25th April) is a day of remembrance in New Zealand and Australia. Anzac day honours the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought in Gallipoli during World War 1. Anzac Day also commemorates all those who served and died in military operations for their countries. Lest we forget.
The Kookaburras reading group have made a video below about ANZAC Day. They have even set a............ HOMEWORK CHALLENGE: Make ANZAC biscuits and add photos or a video to your wiki page!
Have a look at the video above, we have beentrying out the imovie app on the Ipad!!!
We have been really lucky to have a Grasshopper tennis coach come in every Friday and teach us some tennis skills!! Watch out Federer.... Room 5 kids are getting better and better each week!!
Room 5 are still enjoying Mathletics, everyone has achieved at least a Bronze certificate!! Some have achieved Silver and even a Gold!!
Week 10 Paper Mache Pencil Art - Photos below :)
Week 9 We have been so busy with our Mathletics!!! Room 5 worked so hard and ended up in the top 50 classes in New Zealand!!! Rylan has been trying his best all week with his Mathletics, so he is our Mathlete of the week!!!
Look out for pictures of our fantastic paper mache art next week! Thanks to Mrs Davies for coming in to help us :)
Week 8 Here are a couple of short video clips of our role plays. We are learning to read out loud clearly and use expression :)
Well Done to Nikita- Soli who received the R.I.C.H Values award for showing respect!! Nikita- Soli
always shows respect for our environment, she likes to keep our classroom and playground free
from rubbish.
Fonterra Milk For Schools
We have been enjoying our Milk every Tuesday and Thursday. Room 5 loved watching the video below about how to fold up and recycle the cartons!!
Week 6
Photos from Sonshine Ranch and Gym Sport:
Week 5
- Sonshine ranch and Gym Sport Trips this week:
Photos of our trip will be up on our wiki next week :)
Looking for extra activities to do in your spare time or at home? Have a look at the fun activities below!!
Week 4 Room 5 have been working hard with their reading groups!! We love reading the story with our group and then following on with our questions.
On various days, the different groups get to practice and then perform a play in front of the class!!
Have a look at the photos below.
Week 3 We have started Mathletics!!!!
We all have our own Usernames and Passwords so you can log on at home as well as school! Remember to complete the set tasks before going onto the live sessions.
Try and earn a certificate.... Gold, Silver and Bronze!!!
How do certificates work?
1000 points in a week = 1 certificate. Students can only
earn one certificate each week. Once they have collected
five bronze certificates, they receive a silver award. A
gold certificate is earned when they have collected four
Week Seven
We are in the grips of a"Mathletics Competition". We are all very motivated to get as many points as we can so that we can beat Rooms 4 and 6! Earlier in the week we held the number one spot in New Zealand, only to be overtaken by Room 5! We will just have to work super hard tonight as the competition ends tomorrow morning at 10:30am!
Look how close the totals are! It is still anyones game!
This week finds us starting to prepare for our Prizegiving / Christmas concert. Our favourite song from this is very clearly "Feel Inside" by Flight of the Conchords". Sing along with the YouTube video below! Gracelin and Jaden did a great job of presenting our syndicate assembly wehre we got to show Karaka syndicate our "We are done" music video we made last week. This will be posted to our wiki as soon as we have made a few extra edits!
For writing this week we are still trying to use the "show not tell technique"... something that takes a lot of practise! So this week, we all dipped our hands into a bucket of icy cold water and tried to keep it in there for as long as we could. And then we wrote about it, trying to describe what it was like and what was happening to our bodies before, during and after. It was lots of fun - I could hear whoops of delight, gasps as the numbing cold took kids breaths away... I saw hands turning red and blotchy or a bluish purple and faces with smiles from ear to ear (I am trying to use a little bit of show not tell myself!) We will try and get some of these pieces of writing onto our personal wikis in week six.
Reading on Friday involved reading a Maori Legend called Maui and the Giant Fish. Many children had not heard this story before, and some were very concerned that this could be real! To make the story come to life, we got into small groups and each group had to go back and revisit the story and turn it into a small play to perform in front of the class. This took on a life of its own as kids busied themselves making props and canoes. I was most impressed with some of the collaboratation, co-operation and leadership skills that were demonstrated. Samuel even said to me that it was so much fun - and could we please do something like that again! I think our next legend might have to be "How Maui Caught the Sun"!
Check out some of the photos we snapped during the week!
Term Four Week Four
Room 5 have been very busy with Mrs Cowan over the last few weeks creating sugar skulls! The sugar skulls come from a mexican holiday called the "Day of the Dead". During this time they make sugar skulls to honour those that have passed away. The photo does not do them justice, so next time you are at school, be sure to pop in and have a look!
This week Karaka syndicate is organising assembly, so I thought we had better get something together... as I was searching for bits n pieces on the internet, I came across a dance-a-long video that will be perfect for our brain breaks! We will have to try this as a class tomorrow! Also, check out the video with the clapping game. Do you think we can come up with something similar???
Term Four Week Three
We certainly made the most of the short week, and finished off the week with a shared lunch. The shared lunch was well deserved, as everyone had finally achieved 50 dojo class points! Well done! Thanks to all the parents that sent something along for us all to share. The kids really enjoyed it, and some are already asking when we can do it again! As the end of the year looms, teachers (myself included) are starting to gear up for lots of testing over the next few weeks. We have already completed spelling tests and done a writing sample, so that means reading and maths assessments are the next on the list.
Term Four Week Two
It was a bit of shock to the system, having to organise ourselves for homework and spelling and getting back to a real learning day! Being the last term, there will be lots of tests and assessments, with a writing sample and a basic facts test to be completed this week.
To ease ourselves into it, we refelcted on Calf Club day using a padlet. Then we thought about one moment at Calf Club and thought about what we could hear, see, smell. taste and feel. See below of our favourite bits about last Friday, and our class attempt and writing with lots of detail about Mrs Reeves arriving back at the class after a long day, to be faced with the task of reorganising the classroom!
Term Four Week One
After an exciting holiday, when Amber's mum had baby Isla and Matthew hand fed monkeys at Auckland Zoo, there was lots of activity during the first week back due to Calf Club. We were busy finishing bits n pieces, as well as making dream catchers to use as our third piece of calf club art.
On Thursday morning, everyone arrived with big smiles, some frazzled looking parents as well as flowers, jars, baking trays, vegetables and foliage in tow.The whole class did a wonderful job of their floral creations. Our classroom looked and smelled amazing on Thursday afternoon!
Finally the big day arrived, and so did the animals and the beautiful weather. Many thanks to parents, grandparents and friends who all helped support the children of room 5 in some way shape or form.
Check out some of the photos from a very memorable day.
Week Ten
Today we were invited to watch the school production. It was so cool! There were a few similarities between the production and the 26 storey treehouse novel that we are reading as a class! It was especially exciting to see kids from Karaka syndicate up on stage!
As you may have seen from earlier posts we have loved learning about the human body! So, as a final task, we had to choose an organ or part of our body and research about it. These have taken quite some time to prepare, but it was worth the time! Head over to our learning hub and check out our presentations!
Tomorrow is mufti-day to raise money for the jump jam teams, and Friday is our green card celebration! Even though this term has gone so quickly, we are all looking forward to a break!
Week Nine:Friday was talk like a priate day. So in the morning we all came up with our own pirate names using the chart below. Gracelin's pirate name was "Sharbait Headbeard". Chelsea's pirate name was "Squidlips Hornswaggle". Our pirate accents do need a little work though, some of us sounded like little monsters, and others sounded Irish! Use the chart below to find your own pirate name!
This term, we have been trying to write lots of different types of non-fiction pieces. For the last week and a bit, we have been researching and writing about an animal that interests us. Once we had written about what the animal looks like, their diet and habitat, we could choose how we were going to present our information to our audience. Some people chose to create a poster using paper and pens, some chose to create a poster online using www.postermywall.com. Creating an animated movie using www.powtoon.com was also a popular choice. We even had a group use google presentation as well as making a movie using the iPads. See two of the finished examples right here! These videos have been created without any teacher input - well done!
Week Eight
This week's main event was cross country. It was a great afternoon that most of the children thoroughly enjoyed. Before their races, we could hear nervous chatter and saw some very concerned looking faces. But, once they had lined up for thier races, and the start gun had sounded, the nerves seemed to disappear! Some kids could have run the course again, yet for others it was a real challenge. I was really proud of the way everyone gave it their best shot, and helped others when they were struggling.
I did take lots of photos, but am currently having a panic as I can't find the SD card! Once it turns up I will post the photos here.
The 26 Storey Treehouse
Week Seven
Friday was challenge day! This week we collaborated with Room 6. It was interesting to work with people we don't usually work with. The challenge was to build a bridge so Mr Reeves' cows could get from one side of the farm over the stream to the paddocks with lots of grass! Lots of thinking and talking and adapting ideas as we went. Check out the photos!
I know I say every week is busy - but this week really was! Below is a mind map of some of the things we did over the week...
We also tasted lemons to see what our face looks like when we grimace! Grimace was our word of the week.
Week Six
We have another busy week ahead! First thing on Monday morning we have our second (and last) session in the Life Ed van. Friday's session was so much fun, and it was really impressive how much the children could tell Becs (the Life Ed teacher) about the human body. This week is Mrs Kirkbride's last week in Room 5 before we welcome Mrs Cowan back. During the time Mrs Kirkbride has been in Room 5 we have made 3D wire art, 3D shapes out of tooth picks and blue tack as well as do some more learning about the human body! We have music on Wednesday, as well as assembly on Friday. Hold on to your hats, it's going to be another hectic week!
Do you remember writing these? click on the the page to see the flipbook.
These are a few photos I had floating around. We are really proud of Matthew for earning the Powerful Learner Award in assembly. Matthew received this award for his fantastic attitude towards his learning. He tries everything, even when it's hard, and always gives it his best shot. Well done Matthew!
Congratulations also go to Samantha and Phoebe, who sat the New South Wales writing exam a few months ago. Both of these girls earned "pass with distinction" certificates. This is something to be incredibly proud of!
Friday 29th August
For a change, we just did some free writing about any topic we chose on Wednesday. At the end of our writing sessions we always share bits of our work. I was completely blown away by the quality of some of the pieces!
Here is James' favourite sentence: Very interesting, I thought. I went to take a closer look, then splat, I found myself lying on the floor with blood all over me.
Here is Oscar's amazing sentence: I found a pie... I observed the pie and it tasted like a mouldy burger from 100 years ago.
Our focus for this lesson was to try and NOT use "and then"!! No more "and thens" in Room 5!
Week Five:
What a great few days it's been! We are all enjoying our fractions work, this may have something to do with using Smarties to work out fractions (and then eating them once we were done!) There seems to be a real hum in the class during maths. It is so motiviating to see the class engaged, which makes me want to plan more exciting lessons...
Today we also had another hands on topic lesson - this time we looked at a lamb's heart! Beyond knwoing we need one to keep alive, the class didn't know too much about its job (to pump blood around the body!). As you can imagine, we had some very excited kids, as well as some that I may have scarred for life! We can't wait for our lessons in the Life Education van as we will learn more about the circulatory system!
As teachers, we talk about creating authentic purposes for learning. In other words, making sure there is a real reason for different activities. Last week Jaden wrote a beautiful piece about his Dad being his hero. Rather than it just living in his computer forever, this piece of writing gained a life of its own as Jaden read this piece out loud at a memorial service held for his Dad this morning. I am so very proud of you Jaden!
Week Three:
Where did the last two weeks go? I can't believe that it is already week three! A slight change in plans means Mrs Cameron will be in Room 5 this Thursday. I'm sure she will have a great day!
Today we finished writing our "Best Part of Me" pieces. We have some spectacular stories. I look foward to getting these printed and on the wall with a photo to match! Look out for our pieces on each student's wiki, as well as our digital flipbook to be published right here. Until then, check out our padlet that helped us start planning our writing... even the planning was fun because we learnt how to use the webcams!
Week Two:
We are all enthralled by our current topic of the human body. This week we are looking at the skeleton and what its job is. To make this a little more interesting we looked at and touched a cow's leg bone. I think the photos say it all. What a cool lesson. It has sparked quite an interest in our skeleton!
Next week Mrs Cowan is off to Canada to visit family and friends. We hope she has a good time, and we look forward to hearing all about her trip! Because Mrs Cowan is away, Mrs Kirkbride will be in on a Thursday, starting week 4.
Some people say that creativity has disappeared from classrooms. Not in Room 5! The challenge was to build a tower using only the materials given to us, while working as a team. There were some tremendous results. Once the building part of the challenge was complete, we all worked on a collaborative google doc to relfect on the challenge and think about what team work really means. Check out the photos!
Goodness! This is week is whizzing by! This term promises to be as busy as any other, possibly busier as we will be working on the whole school production "Pirates of the Curry Bean".
This week is "Te wiki o te reo Maori" - Maori language week. In our morning meetings we have been getting good at greeting each other in Maori and asking each other "Kei te pehea koe?" (how are you).
Riley celebrated his 9th birthday this week and brought in a beautiful cake that he and his Mum decorated. The whole class loved the cake!
We have been busy working on our multiplication and division, and many of us have worked out that if we know the multiplication fact, we also know the division fact! It is exciting to see the whole class really enjoying maths. This morning we did a quick survey using a google form and one of the questions was "what is one thing you are really enjoying in the class?". Many students replied that maths was something they were enjoying, as they have realised it isn't always hard! Motivation is such a key ingredient in learning!
As a class we are reading Mr Gum and the Biscuit Millionaire. It is quite an odd book, but it has made us giggle a lot! When we listen to the book, as well as trying to keep up with what is happening in the story, we are listening for "wow words" or sentences that we love the sound of that we could use in our own writing. This is called "reading like a writer"!
03.07.14
Measurement
In Room 5 we have been working on our measurement skills. One of our favourite tasks was to create paper planes. It sounds like fun but surprisingly it proved to be quite a challenge. It meant that we had to use our problem solving skills often and collaborate with each other to find the best strategies to design the best planes . We found out that the longer and pointier your plane is the further it will fly. Room 5 had an Airshow to see whose plane flew the furthest. We then measured the distance in metres. Matthews plane flew the furthest, then Jacob's and then James'. We also measured the distance using our personal benchmarks.
Today we were working on measurement estimations. Mrs Cowan brought in some of her sons belongings, such as a shoe, a jumper, a truck, a book and much more. We were surprised at how small his clothes were. We thought they looked like dolls clothes. First we estimated how long we thought they were. Then we checked our answers with a ruler. We were practising using the units centimetres and millimetres.
Another measurement activity we enjoyed was Clown Drawing. We had to draw a clown from the circus in our books using specific measurements. We had to use our rulers to make sure that the clowns arms, legs, feet, hands and torso were the right length. Check out Samuel measuring his clown in the photo above.
"Estimation means taking your best guess". Samantha
"We have learned that estimating is actually good because if you don't have a ruler you can estimate and you might get the answer right". Emily
"Estimation can be used for lots of things, example, guessing how heavy something is".Callahan
Firstly, congratulations to Mrs Farrell who had a beautiful little boy this week! Most of the class guessed that Mrs Farrell was going to have a boy!
Another busy week has come to a close! We have been doing a lot of work on multiplication for maths. This means finding different ways to work multiplication problems out (also known as strategies) as well as getting better at remembering times table facts. It is awesome to see all of Room 5 so engaged at maths time!
On Friday we used the Dreamworks Super Hero cards to make arrays. Arrays are rows or lines to display a times tables fact visually. The challenge was to try and work out different ways of displaying numbers up to 24. e.g I can show 12 by making two rows of six, or three rows of four. The conversations in the class during this task were great!
One example:"Mrs Reeves!! We have figured out that if we have 24 cards, we could each have six and our invisible guy could have six too!. That means four lots of six is 24!"
Now that testing is all done and dusted (for now anyway) we can really sink our teeth into reading. This week we explored kids news, a website with news stories especially written for children in New Zealand. As part of this we learned about summarising - finding the main points from start to end in order to tell a shorter version of the story, article or text. For some of us this was quite hard, and others really enjoyed it. There is lots of talk about "reading strategies". Simply put, these reading strategies give readers a variety of skills to really understand what they are reading. Once we are good readers, we use these strategies without thinking, but first they must be taught! Some of the reading comprehension strategies that we come across are:
The Strategies:
Other useful strategies
(From http://sheenacameron.co.nz/books.html)
Our topic of Sustainability has linked very nicely with the movie "The Lorax". Check out the song "Let it Grow".
We are getting pretty good at using technology in our classroom! For maths and writing, some of our activities are on our Learning Hub. Click on the link to go and check it out. (You may not be able to see some of the pages due to privacy settings, but you will get the idea). Homework information is here too.
Click here to go to the Learning Hub
Check it out! Can you spot a name you know??
Week 6
Friday 13th June
In Room 5 we start each day with a "morning meeting". In our meeting we make sure we greet each other, we share our news and ideas, we discuss different things, we do an activity that gets us thinking and we read our daily message ( a little story about what will be happening that day).
Why start the day with a morning meeting?
The photos below are of a greeting we did on Wednesday morning called the "web welcome". As each person was greeted, they held onto a part of the ball of string, and then continued to pass it to someone who hadn't yet been greeted. Once everyone had had a turn, our patterns made a spider web!
Thursday 12 June
Roar, neigh, squeak, snap! Animals from Africa say it all. Today in Room 5 we continued our research on animals from Africa.
Jayden learned that a rhino can weigh up to 3500kg's.
Emily learned that Penguins don't live in the south pole.
Phoebe learned that a tiger can jump up to 5 metres.
Nikita Soli learned that zebras run from side to side to escape predators.
Oscar learned that female eagles lay eggs on high cliffs.
Riley learned that Tucans are not very good at flying.
Chelsea learned that some parrots live up to 80 years.
Samuel learned that there are more than 250 types of bees in the world.
Jordan learned that the crocodile has the strongest bite in the animal kingdom.
After we had researched our animals we made prints. See if you can recognise the animals from their prints below !
Wednesday 11 June
I think we will have to try this tomorrow. It might be great way to get moving on these miserable rainy days!
Try this! Double click on the colourful wall below and typ
e an idea that you could write about. It might be the first sentence for a fabulous story you could write or, you could give me a topic that you might like to write a story about.
This could be your chance to be the next Andy Griffiths or Tom Gates!
For example: I closed my eyes and jumped.... or... I think there might be a monster under my bed... Or: "I want to write about Motorbikes", or "I love to write about all the naughty things my little sister does"... Be as creative as you can... get ideas from your family.... Have fun!
P.S: remember to add your name to your post.
Week 5
Meet Mac! This week we were lucky enough to have Jacob's Mum bring Mac to school for a visit! Jacob did a great job of making sure Mac felt safe and warm while we were all patting him. We noticed how soft and silky Mac's fur felt. Thanks for sharing Jacob! Even though this week was a short one, we still managed to pack a lot in! We wrote a classroom poem called "In Room 5 we do...". Many of the children in the class knew of the posters some people have in their homes about house rules, so they enjoyed writing some for our class. This was a great way of capturing how everyone in Room 5 wants to feel, or be treated, and what we need to do. This was also our first opportunity to use a google doc, and the whole class coped so well.
What's on this week coming?
This week there will be lots of testing! With portfolios going home soon, there will be some pretty busy days. We will also start a new spelling programme and continue learning about and doing the different Daily Five activities (our reading and literacy framework). Can't wait!
Earlier in the Week
Hi everyone! What a busy day in Room 5 it was today. We re-wrote our classroom rules together, created a collage to use as a background for our 'selfie' images and took a maths test. But... my guess is that most of the kids in Room 5 would say that the best part of the day was when Mr Williams delivered our new blue trolley full of...... new computers! I was really impressed with how quickly and easily everyone got on to a network and signed in using our new Room 5 google account. I am so excited about all the possibilities that having a computer for each child opens up! Watch this space! Photos to come :-)
Week 4
My last week with Room 5!!
I have had a wonderful time in Room 5 this first half of the year!!
It has been great getting to know and working with all 24 children! I wish Room 5 all the best for the rest of the year and I'll come and visit soon :)
Mrs Farrell
Wow!!! Room 5 have created beautiful turtle artwork. We used Pastels first to colour and design our turtles then used blue dye to paint over the top. Check out the pictures below!!!!
Week 3
Well done to the the brave children who have already presented their speeches!! It's never easy going first or presenting a speech for the first time!! It's fantastic to see the children researching their topics,writing down their own ideas, making cue cards and practising with their buddies. We are looking forward to hearing the rest of the speeches during the week and early next week!!
Videos below- Oscar,Phoebe and Alex.
VID00002 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
VID00001 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
Week 2
Speeches!!!!!!
Due weeks 3-4 or when you feel ready (but no later than week 4)
Look out for the outline glued in homework books.
Everyone is going to present a 2- 3 minute speech about a topic of their choice. Try to choose a topic that you are interested in or have experience in/with.
Remember to include:
Introduction- Interesting opening sentence that grabs the audience attention
Body- Facts, personal experience
Conclusion- quick summary and ending
Lastly use cue cards and practice, practice and practice.
Term 2- Week 1
Welcome back to Term 2!!! Hope you all enjoyed the break!
It has been exciting to hear all about the adventures and fun activities everyone has been up to!!
Holiday Homework
Here are some pictures below of CJ, Phoebe and Amber baking their ANZAC cookies. Well Done to everyone who gave it a go!!!
Week 12
We have had a wonderful 12 weeks and are all looking forward to our two week holiday!!
Next Friday is ANZAC Day.
Anzac Day (25th April) is a day of remembrance in New Zealand and Australia. Anzac day honours the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought in Gallipoli during World War 1. Anzac Day also commemorates all those who served and died in military operations for their countries. Lest we forget.
The Kookaburras reading group have made a video below about ANZAC Day. They have even set a............
HOMEWORK CHALLENGE: Make ANZAC biscuits and add photos or a video to your wiki page!
VID00001 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
Happy Easter!
Week 11
Room 5 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
Have a look at the video above, we have been trying out the imovie app on the Ipad!!!
We have been really lucky to have a Grasshopper tennis coach come in every Friday and teach us some tennis skills!! Watch out Federer.... Room 5 kids are getting better and better each week!!
Room 5 are still enjoying Mathletics, everyone has achieved at least a Bronze certificate!! Some have achieved Silver and even a Gold!!
Week 10
Paper Mache Pencil Art - Photos below :)
Week 9
We have been so busy with our Mathletics!!! Room 5 worked so hard and ended up in the top 50 classes in New Zealand!!! Rylan has been trying his best all week with his Mathletics, so he is our Mathlete of the week!!!
Look out for pictures of our fantastic paper mache art next week!
Thanks to Mrs Davies for coming in to help us :)
Week 8
Here are a couple of short video clips of our role plays.
We are learning to read out loud clearly and use expression :)
VID00005 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
VID00003 from Tiana Farrell on Vimeo.
Week 7
Well Done to Nikita- Soli who received the R.I.C.H Values award for showing respect!! Nikita- Soli
always shows respect for our environment, she likes to keep our classroom and playground free
from rubbish.
Fonterra Milk For Schools
We have been enjoying our Milk every Tuesday and Thursday. Room 5 loved watching the video below about how to fold up and recycle the cartons!!
Week 6
Photos from Sonshine Ranch and Gym Sport:
Week 5
- Sonshine ranch and Gym Sport Trips this week:
Photos of our trip will be up on our wiki next week :)
Looking for extra activities to do in your spare time or at home? Have a look at the fun activities below!!
Read-O
Week 4
Room 5 have been working hard with their reading groups!! We love reading the story with our group and then following on with our questions.
On various days, the different groups get to practice and then perform a play in front of the class!!
Have a look at the photos below.
Week 3
We have started Mathletics!!!!
We all have our own Usernames and Passwords so you can log on at home as well as school! Remember to complete the set tasks before going onto the live sessions.
Try and earn a certificate.... Gold, Silver and Bronze!!!
How do certificates work?
1000 points in a week = 1 certificate. Students can only
earn one certificate each week. Once they have collected
five bronze certificates, they receive a silver award. A
gold certificate is earned when they have collected four
silver certificates.
Term 1- Week 1&2
Welcome to Room 5's Wiki Page!!
Room 5 members :)